Sermon prepared for Messiah Lutheran Church, Auburn
WA
8:30 & 11:00 Morning Promise services – 4-21-02
by Gregory S. Kaurin, associate pastor
text(s): Matthew 22:36-40 (also, Matthew 7:24-25, 35;
Ephesians 2:8-10; Isaiah 55:10-11; & Luke 24:44-47)
Sermon:
A Sermon on the 3rd of Messiah Lutheran
Church’s
Seven Marks of Discipleship:
“Liberty in Love’s Boundary”
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This happened over
two years ago, but it still gets under my skin. Pauline and I were sitting in Charlie’s Chinese Restaurant in
Lakewood on a Sunday afternoon waiting for our lunch. Meanwhile, I was doing one of my favorite things: listening to
the conversation in the next booth.
It
was an interesting conversation for me because they were discussing the ups and
downs of different kinds of Christians, like all that was wrong with the
Catholics and other denominations. My
ears especially perked up when one lady asked, “What about those
Lutherans? What do you think of them?”
The
second lady answered, “Well, they started out okay, but then, I think, they got
away from the Bible. They just need to
get back to the Bible!”
That
conversation pops into my head once in a while. I suppose I should’ve done something about it then—just didn’t
want to have to admit that I was eavesdropping. But I also take it as a way for self-reflection. Really, what she said is true …for all of
us. We all need to be getting back to
the Bible. Constantly and continuously,
you and I need to keep getting back into our Bibles.
There is a Lutheran
statement, over 450 years old now, which said, “The Bible is the norm of
doctrine and life—the true standard by which all teachings and doctrines are to
be judged.” At our ordinations, this is
one statement from which we pastors specifically promise to preach and teach,
that the Bible is the norm and standard for all doctrine and life.
We
remain Biblically founded and grounded, and we are a church committed to the
idea that all Christians should be digging into the scriptures. Regular Bible study should be something that
we are all striving to include in our lives, because we do: we need to get back
to the Bible, again and again.
What is our center?
So
then, where shall we start; what is our center; how are we to understand what
we read? I have a few thoughts to offer
about reading and understanding the Bible.
The greatest help, though, comes right from the scripture itself, like
the lesson we just read.
A
lawyer asked Jesus for the greatest commandment of scripture. Our Thursday morning Bible study class was
studying the Ten Commandments a couple of weeks ago. We noticed in the Book of Deuteronomy that, in the next few
verses after the Commandments, there is this summarizing statement for the Law,
exactly as Jesus said it. All law and commands
are summarized in this one: Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul and
mind. In other words, love God with
everything you have, through everything you do and in everything you think. Loving God includes feelings, but goes way
beyond that to obeying him because you love him and because you trust his
guidance and judgments.
Jesus
said the second greatest commandment is similar: love your neighbor as
yourself. It’s like the first for a
couple of reasons. First, both of these
commandments describe how we relate to God.
We can relate to God directly, but the primary way that God interacts,
teaches and comforts us is through other people. And the primary way that we interact, learn from and respond to
God is also through other people. Loving
neighbors is loving the one who made them.
That
is why Jesus said, “When you do it for one of the least of these—when you feed,
clothe or comfort them—you do it for me.
Just the same, when you ignore them, you ignore me…and the one who sent
me.”
Loving
the neighbor is also like the greatest commandment in that both commandments
tell us to get out of our self and selfishness. Some have noted that—if you are to love your neighbor as
yourself—you ought to have a kind of self-respect and love to start with. I do think we need to recognize that we are
each lovingly created by God, and just as forgive-able and save-able as the
next. Sometimes you need to stand
outside yourself and gaze back with kindness.
Be your own friend long enough to realize that that is how God sees you,
so be at peace with yourself. Both the
greatest and the second greatest commandments say, “Stop it! Get out of yourself. Love God.
Love your neighbor with all your feelings, actions and thoughts.”
St.
Augustine in the 5th Century said, “So long as you do these—love God
with all your heart, soul, strength and mind; and your neighbor as
yourself—then you can do anything else you want!” This is the liberty, the freedom, in love’s boundary. If you act in obedience to the greatest commands
of love, then you have automatically obeyed everything else. Whenever you are acting out of love for God
and your neighbor, you are obeying the heart and intention of all the
commandments and scripture.
It
doesn’t work the other way around. You
can obey and obey and obey. You can
treat your neighbor fairly, never coveting, never stealing, never lying. But, if you don’t do it out of love, if you
do it out of fear: fear of getting caught…fear of hell; or, if you do it for
the goal of getting something out of it: for rewards, recognition…salvation,
then you miss the whole point. The
point of obedience is not just good behavior.
What God has always wanted was a relationship of love and trust and
honesty. That’s a central point of all
scripture, a place to start: Love God and love the creation, the creatures and
the people that God has placed at your side.
Now,
apply this center, these central commandments of love, to your Bible study and
scripture. This isn’t just my advice or
idea. I think it was the point that
Jesus was trying to make time and again.
That’s why he healed and fed his disciples on the Sabbath. Love your neighbor first. Then follow rules of the Sabbath. Don’t use the rules, don’t use laws, and
don’t use scripture as an excuse to ignore, exclude or take out your vengeance
or to dislike anyone.
That’s
why Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery. (Notice she was “caught” not just “accused.”) The Law demanded her condemnation and death. Jesus declared her forgiveness first, understanding
first, love first. So, remember that
these commandments of love are central.
Whenever you read the Bible or listen to someone teaching or preaching,
telling you how to live and react in the world, always test what you hear
through this center.
Sometimes,
you’ll hear someone say, “Well, it’s right here in the Bible! It says so right here. It must be true; it’s biblical!” I’ve heard people calling it “real biblical
preaching.” I’m asking you to be more
careful. The devil still quotes scripture
and he can make it sound very righteous.
He says words right from the Bible.
But when he does, the words are no longer biblical, and they are not
true, not the way he uses them.
So,
if you’re listening or reading and it sounds like someone is using scripture to
condemn someone else—to throw stones at them, or if it sounds like
self-righteousness, or if it feels like they’re trying to cover up disgust or
fear with self-justifying Bible passages, they may be using words from the
Bible, but they are not biblical. It is
not true, even if it’s scripture, when it ignores the central commandment of
“Love First.”
One
of my favorite preachers now is Philip Gulley.
He’s a pastor of a Quaker church.
He wrote, “[The] irony is, love and rules have the same goal—helping
folks get along… Don’t get me wrong…rules have their place on life’s
roster. I just think love and joy ought
to lead the way.”
Love
and joy ought to lead the way. That is
Biblical. That is central. And that is true.
Center #2: The “Word of God” is Jesus Christ.
The
second center to keep in mind as you study scripture is actually what makes the
first center possible. The only reason
and the only way we can love God without fear, without worrying about
ourselves, or trying to earn or repay God is because of Jesus Christ, what he
did for us, and what he gave us.
The
only way we can stop trying to earn God’s love, forgiveness and salvation is
for him to just give it to us. It’s
like a teacher who announces at the beginning of the year, “Okay class, you are
all starting with an A, and will end with A’s.
With that out of the way, let’s try to learn something!”
(Wish
I’d had more teachers like that.) But
that’s what God did! This was his Word
and Will and Purpose from all eternity: to live in a loving relationship with
his people. From Adam and Eve, through
Noah to Abraham and Sarah, to Isaac and Joseph and Moses, through Israel to the
Gentiles, that is the central purpose under and above and through his scripture. Under and above and through his scripture is
the Holy and Living Word of God: Jesus Christ.
Never
mistake this: Jesus Christ is the Word of God in his purist form. Jesus Christ embodies what the Spirit
intends for us to hear throughout the whole Bible. Jesus physically was and did God’s Will and Purpose when he paid
our price and gave us, gave us, his righteousness, forgiveness and
salvation. It’s all yours.
Let
your faith in God grab hold of this incredible gift. This is powerful stuff—it cannot ever be forced from you or
broken by an outside force—because it comes from the Almighty God! So, when it comes to Bible study or
learning, never let preachers, teachers or your own little voice try to qualify
or condition this gift.
If
you hear someone paying lip service to grace and forgiveness, but quickly
adding their, “Yes, but…” you need to be very careful. “Yes, but you must accept Jesus Christ this
way,” or, “at this time,” or, “with these words,” or, “You must feel this way”
or, “go through these steps, in this order.”
I know that scripture passages—lots of them—can be found to support
their qualifiers and conditions. But if
their words undermine the complete and total power of what Jesus did for you
and gives to you, then—even though the words come from the Bible—they are not
biblical. They are not true if they say
that the Grace of God’s forgiveness is conditional. If Grace was conditional, then it would be a lie—grace is, by
definition, free.
God
forgives us, and he gives us salvation through Jesus Christ, so that we can
finally accept it and respond with true actions and thoughts of love. God didn’t make us just of save us, of
course! He made us for a purpose: to
love us and to be loved back through our good words and works of thankfulness,
peace and joy. Love and joy lead the
way. This is our new life, our new way
of life.
Get back to the Bible.
So,
yes, in this new life we’ve been given, we all need to get back to the Bible
consistently and regularly. As you strive
to adopt this Mark of Discipleship into your life, let me offer you three
suggestions.
1) You might start each day with a short passage of
scripture and a prayer. Let it open the
rest of your day to hearing his Word.
And when you read, remember that you’re not just reading the Bible. You are talking to and listening to a voice
who speaks through the Bible: God.
2) You should be attending at least one regular Bible
study group. God interacts with and
teaches us primarily through other people.
The insight God brings to us through others is tremendous.
3) You might get a devotional book or one of those
read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year books.
They’re excellent. But it might
be even better for you to let God’s Spirit move you. Let curiosity guide you through the Bible. Don’t get yourself bogged down in the Book
of Numbers just because you promised yourself to slog through at least five
chapters everyday. Don’t make this into
drudgery! Follow the stories and
teachings with your heart. Go back to
your favorites whenever you need to hear them.
Then, venture into new passages.
Bible reading and study is your time with God. Enjoy his company!
Rejoice in his grace!
And
through it all, keep these centers of Grace, Love and Forgiveness always before
you as your read and study. Let God
write them on your heart. Amen.
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